Our Top 10 Movies of 2015

Number 10

Star Wars: The Force AwakensIt’s Star Wars. It’s pretty good. It’s just good enough to get onto this list. And maybe it’s lucky that it didn’t come out in a better year, because otherwise it might not belong on this list at all. Read the review >>

Number 9

The MartianAn impressive movie all around, a movie we greatly enjoyed, and one that we’re certain you’ll enjoy. We just didn’t love it as much as the rest of the movies on this list. Read the review >>

Number 8

The Hateful EightSort of a weird bottle episode of a Tarantino movie, it still boasts unmistakable direction, impressive performances, and most of everything we look for in these types of movies. That it ended up in our number eight spot is sheer coincidence but also very impressive. We’ve seen better Tarantino movies, we’ve seen Tarantino movies we enjoyed more, but almost any Tarantino movie in any year is always going to be among the year’s best. Plus, Kurt Russell, so…. Read the review >>

Number 7

Steve JobsWildly overdramatic, grossly inaccurate, and really only good in very specific and very insular ways. A triumph of scripting over storytelling. And we loved it. Read the review >>

Number 6

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.In a year with seemingly more major spy movies than any before — Kingsman, [the creatively titled] Spy, Spooks: The Greater Good, Bridge of Spies, a new Mission: Impossible, and a new James Bond — it’s the one that nobody remembers or talked about that left the biggest and best impression on us. Of the seven, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is the only one that really made us want to see more.

Number 5

The End of the TourFor writers, maybe for writers only, and a movie that affirms every hope, illusion, and fear we writers tend to have. We liked it.

Number Four

Mr. HolmesA very small movie in a year full of sequels to some of the biggest movies of all time, it nevertheless looms large on the year with a narrative and acting that outstrips everything else we saw from 2015. Read the review >>

Number 3

When Marnie Was ThereIf you really, really want to find a 2015 movie to make you cry, we recommend starting here. Utterly haunting, memorable, and so real. Read the review >>

Number 2

Avengers: Age of UltronAge of Ultron may have been all over the place in terms of plot and tone and it may not be the sequel you were looking for, but at its best it’s some of the strongest superhero fiction to ever make it to the screen, with a conclusion that ushers in a new age of Avengers members who trade in pure star power for dysfunctional weirdness. And that’s so Avengers. Read the reviews from a nerd and a normal >>

Number 1

Me and Earl and the Dying GirlMaybe it’s not technically the best movie of the year, maybe it’s the poster child for indie movies at their most cloying, and maybe we don’t even agree with its essential message, but it’s still the most heartfelt, clever, and genuinely hilarious movie of the year.

So Close

Amy

Creed

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Peanuts Movie

Room

Movies that missed the deadline for Top 10 consideration (‘cause normal people couldn’t see them in 2015)